Lacrymosa
by Blood Red Wine
Summary: This fanfiction picks up right where the film left off.Jesse Tuck finds that sometimes love can be reborn in another,the other being the great granddaughter of his own love Winnie Will he ask her to join him in immortality or will he learn to let go again
1. A New Beginning

_**Chapter 1: A New Beginning**_

_Basic Storyline: This follows the movie plot instead of the book. This fanfiction picks up where the movie left off. Jesse is at Winnie's grave site. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Tuck Everlasting, just thought I should mention that_

Jesse looked at the headstone with a million thoughts going through his mind. Had he waited too long to come back for her? He had said he would come back for her and he did, but what if she had taken Tuck and Miles advice? Was he selfish for wanting her to wait over 75 years for him to come back?

"She's been dead for four years," he thought to himself.

"Amy!" Jesse heard someone call from the house when he began to walk away.

He turned around to see something he had missed in the trees before. There was a girl in the tree. Well, not a girl really, but a young woman, about his age maybe a few years older. He chuckled to himself. "My age, there is no human being on the planet as old as I am."

Amy jumped down from the tree careful to step around the grave and all the flowers surrounding it. She knelt down by the grave and said, "Gram, I know you would have wanted to be here, Andrea is getting married and well we all miss you, but we know that it was time for you to move on." "I.. I am crazy for talking to a headstone like this," she muttered to herself.

Amy turned around and was shocked to see a blond in a leather jacket.

"Can I help you?" Amy asked nervously. She had never seen this guy around before, but it was hard to keep track of all of Andrea's friends because she was quite popular, but this guy looked to young. Andrea was almost 25 and this guy couldn't be older than 18.

"Just coming to see an old friend, but it seems she passed away," Jesse said quietly.

"She was 100 years old, how could you be an old friend?" Amy asked quietly.

He looked up at her and gasped. He hadn't noticed just how much Amy looked like Winnie. Not an exact match obviously, but the brown curly hair and the eyes had been passed down. The face looked a lot like Winnie's as well but there were obvious variations. She was also wearing a dress of a similar make to under dress that Winnie had worn the day he had taken her swimming and that night by the fire when she had learned the secret of the Tucks. He shook himself out of his daze. He would certainly draw attention to himself if he kept gawking at her.

"It's a long story," Jesse finally managed to say.

"Amy!" a middle aged blond woman shouted coming down to get her. "What are you doing here? You are going to get that dress dirty hanging out here and you're sister's wedding is starting soon."

"I'm sorry mom," Amy said. "I just needed some time with Gram."

"Amy, we've been over this a hundred times. She's dead, just because you come out here every time you have a chance doesn't mean she is ever going to come back," Amy's mother said completely ignoring Jesse who was trying to slip away.

"Who is this?" Amy's mother pointed towards Jesse. "Is this your date?"

"I told you, I don't have a date," Amy said quietly now blushing.

"Well, then who are you?" Amy's mom asked directing her apparent rage toward Jesse.

"Jesse Tuck," Jesse said. What was the harm of telling this woman his name, she would never remember him as soon as he left.

"You sound familiar are you from around here?" Amy's mother asked.

"You could say that, I'm sort of in and out of town," Jesse said.

"Ah, well I would kindly ask you to stay off of my property if you are not a friend of the family," Amy's mom said.

Amy scrunched her face. She shot an apologetic stare towards Jesse and said, "Sorry I didn't recognize him before, he is a friend of mine, just an old one that I haven't seen in a while. His family moved when I was young. Nice to see you again Jesse."

"Pleasure to see you Amy," Jesse said. "Maybe I will see you some other time when you aren't so busy?"

"Maybe," Amy said.

"Well Jesse, we are having a wedding today so unless you are my daughter's date I suggest you come back another time," Amy's mother said flustered.

"I would be pleased to accompany Amy to the wedding," Jesse said. "If she will allow me."

Amy stood there for a moment. She didn't even know this guy for all she knew he could be a creep. Her mother had been right when she said his name had sounded familiar. She had heard it somewhere before.

In Amy's silence Amy's mother answered for her daughter. "I'm sure Amy would like that, it will give you two a chance to catch up."

Amy's mouth formed the words no toward Jesse, but Amy's mother was already pulling them into the backyard so the wedding could begin.

The wedding took little time and soon the reception began. Amy walked over toward her "date" and said, "I'm sorry, I really don't know you and I'm not quite sure what you are doing here."

"I did know your grandmother," Jesse said still in shock about her death. "You look a lot like her."

"She wasn't my grandmother, she was my great grandmother." "You're not the only one who thinks I look like her though," Amy said quietly. "It was as if my father wasn't even present during my conception. I look nothing like him, though I didn't have much time to find out, he left my mother a long time ago." Amy said.

"I shouldn't have said that," Amy said a few moments later after an awkward silence.

"Would you like me to go?" Jesse asked.

"I don't know," Amy said. "But I know if we are going to be able to talk we should step out otherwise we will get no privacy," Amy said motioning her eyes toward her mother and a few other chattering woman who kept looking over at her standing with Jesse.

"I agree," Jesse said.

Amy led him out of the house and into the woods again. "Sorry about the stares, I just don't have much time for relationships so my mother thinks I'm a little too serious and that I will be some kind of spinster."

There were a few more moments of silence before she said. "I don't know why, but I just feel like talking to you, and saying things that are obviously very revealing for someone I just met and know nothing about."

"What would you like to know?" Jesse asked.

"Where are you from?" Amy asked.

"I wasn't lying when I said I was from around here," Jesse said staring her straight in the eye.

"How is it that I never saw you around though?" Amy asked. "I've lived here all of my life."

"My parents are old fashioned and they home schooled me." Jesse lied.

"Oh, well I guess that makes sense," Amy said.

"I have a few questions of my own, if you wouldn't mind answering them that is," Jesse said.

"I guess we could just go back and forth then," Amy said wanting to know more about Jesse. He fascinated her.

"That is fair. How old are you?" Jesse asked.

"19," Amy said.

Jesse nodded. He had guessed that she looked older than he did. "I guess that it is your turn," Jesse said.

"Hmm, how old are you?" Amy asked back.

Jesse almost cringed but held himself back. He didn't want to give himself away, especially since he didn't know much about Amy. "18," he lied. He might as well be out of school; that would make this lie easier if he were ever to talk to her again. He had to admit that he liked being around her already, perhaps because she reminded him of Winnie, but it was nice to be able to look into his past a little bit.

"Oh, hmm," Amy said thinking. "How many siblings do you have?"

"Just one brother," Jesse said.

Amy nodded. "I guess you already guessed that I have one sister. "What is your brother's name?"

"Hey, that's two questions," Jesse said. "It's my turn."

"Oh, my mistake," Amy said blushing again.

"What do you want to do with your life?" Jesse asked looking straight into her eyes.

Amy glanced down not wanting to meet his intense eyes. She wasn't sure how to answer that question. "I never really thought about that I guess. I have goals, but what I want to do with my life overall?" she said thinking deeply.

Jesse waited patiently until she finally answered. "I guess I would like to do something that helps other people," she said quietly. "I'm not sure what exactly I am going to do, but I guess that's my overall goal."

"What about you," Amy finally said after many moments of intense silence and staring. His eyes were too deep, she was afraid if she kept staring into them she would get lost. She had never understood that phrase until this time.

"I want to live a good life and then," he said taking a breath. " And then, I want to die."

Amy looked at him strangely. That was something that most people chose for themselves. There was something strange about Jesse Tuck. It was as if he was stuck in the wrong time period and the wrong age. He sometimes talked as if he must be a wise old man, but that was ridiculous because he was year younger than she was.

"I have to go," Jesse said. "It's getting dark and your family is probably wondering where you slipped off to."

Amy looked up at the sky. "I suppose you are right." "Have a safe trip Jesse Tuck."

"I hope to see you again Amy…" he said.

"Jackson," Amy answered as he mounted his moped.

"Jackson," he said remembering Winnie's tombstone.

Jesse pulled away and sped off on his moped. He drove far into the outskirts of town before finally finding a small house that the family was going to stay in for a few years before they had to move again. The times were changing and as soon as Miles had learned to use a system similar to the witness protection program they could safely stay in the same place for a while. They had to change their names often, but decided, being back home that it was safe to use their original names.

Mae and Tuck were waiting for Jesse when he came home. They both seemed to be concerned.

Tuck looked out the window at the setting sun, "Please don't tell me she drank the water."

"She didn't drink the water," Jesse said solemnly.

Mae hugged her son and said, "It was for the best Jesse, no one should have to live the way we do."

"I warned you Jesse," Miles said coming into the room. "No human in their right mind would drink from the spring of their own knowledge."

Jesse turned to give him a dirty look, but he didn't have the energy for it. He knew that Miles was right, but that didn't mean that it didn't hurt all the same.

"Were you by her grave all this time?" Tuck asked.

"No," Jesse said. "I went to a wedding."


	2. Gone

_**Chapter 2: Gone  
**_

_There has been a lag, and I almost contemplated scraping the story completely, but here is the second chapter and I think I have stitched the storyline so I will be able to continue writing. I hope to have the updates out more quickly, but life usually gets in the way of those things. I have not yet given up on this story so there will be a third chapter, it just may be a little while until it's posted. I hope to have continued readers, maybe a few reviewers. I take criticism well so if you feel the need to input, by all means please do. I do not own Tuck Everlasting. _

He couldn't get her off of his mind…

For a week Jesse kept his distance from Winnie's grave and most importantly from Winnie's great granddaughter. He didn't want to drag another person into this disaster that his life had become. Sure he had gotten to see everything he wanted in life and he had enjoyed moments, but nothing was ever the same without Winnie, and he knew now that she was dead and gone that he couldn't do that again. He couldn't live with another loss like that, and he most certainly could never ask another to give up her life for the immortality the cursed the Tuck family. He contemplated leaving on a trip, just for a few years, just enough time for her to move on with her life. The truth was she invaded every one of his thoughts with her presence though he hadn't spent much time around here to know much about her. All he knew was that she was the closest he would ever get to having Winnie.

"She isn't Winnie," Miles had said to him when he described the way Amy looked.

"I know that," Jesse said.

"Do you really?" Miles said to him. "I think you are living out some kind of fantasy and grasping for straws brother. As much as she may look like Winnie she isn't. Winnie is dead. Soon this, Amy, will be dead as well. They all follow that pattern Jesse so don't go getting yourself mixed up in their lives. You will only cause more heartache here."

"What's it to you if I get hurt anyway?" Jesse asked him angrily. "It's not like I'm putting anyone in danger."

"You risk exposing us again and again don't you?" Miles asked sardonically. "You really don't understand that we are a family and like it or not you have to think about someone other than yourself for once Jesse."

Jesse sulked away. He decided to for a ride on his moped, to clear his head.

He wasn't sure where he was going until he passed the familiar roads. His muscles responded to every turn as if his subconscious were doing the driving. Soon he found that he was in front of an all to familiar house and he sighed to himself. She was a like a siren who beckoned him without even knowing that she was causing him to crash to his doom. He dismounted from the moped and walked towards Winnie's grave.

"I'll love you until the day I die," he said quietly to himself.

Suddenly he heard a voice coming from the front yard of the home. He spotted Amy with a duffel bag in her hands and a frantic mother at her heels.

"You are going where?" the woman asked.

"I have a summer internship," Amy said flatly. "It's a great honor even to be nominated for such a thing let alone to be granted the position for a full summer with a scholarship for the room and board. I'll never get a chance like this again."

"Well you aren't getting any younger either," Amy's mother said. "You are going to die a spinster if you don't start getting your nose out of the books every once and a while."

"I can't believe that you can't be happy unless I end up like Andrea!" Amy shouted at her mother pushing the duffel bag into the cab of the rusted pickup truck.

"Amelia Winifred Jackson!" Amy's mother shouted. "You will mind your tone with your mother."

Amy rolled her eyes. Jesse cringed from his hiding spot. Did she have to be so much like Winnie? Did she have to have her name? This made it harder for him to resist. He held his place and continued to watch the event unfold in front of him.

"I'm leaving," Amy said. "I don't need to be taken care of. I'm not a fragile woman like you were, like Andrea is. I guess I'm more like Grandma Sarah in that way and her mother Winifred as well."

Amy's mother stood flabbergasted in the driveway as Amy grabbed the rest of her luggage from the house. "I told you I would only be here for a little while, I only came down for the wedding."

"I had no idea that you were going to be locked up in a laboratory all day," Amy's mom contested.

"It's my chosen career I just wish you could be as happy with it as I am. I know Gram would have been."

Amy's mother balled her hands up in fists. "I wish that woman would have never come to live with us. She filled your head with dreams and fantasies that are never going to be within reach. You need to settle down and raise a family, something that is stable. You are going to miss out on these years by being in a lab and when you finally decide to have a family you aren't going to be able to. I'm just looking out for you Amy."

"These aren't dreams and fantasies. This is a real career. This is a chance to prove that woman is destined for something more than dishes, dust, or diapers. You know how many discoveries have been from woman? They are always overshadowed in the end, like Rosalind Franklin. She discovered DNA for pete's sake and how was she thanked. By having her work stolen and then having Watson and Crick stamped all over a discovery that rightfully belonged to her. History writes us out and I can't believe you would want me to continue in that path. This is the twenty first century!"

Amy's mother shook her head and walked back into the house Amy sighed and slumped against her truck. Jesse thought she was going to get into the truck and pull away, but she didn't She hesitated for a moment and then turned toward Jesse. He was afraid she had seen him, but she showed no sign of it in her facial expression. She looked sad.

She walked across the street over to the gravesite. She sighed to herself and leaned up against the tree that Jesse was behind. He moved to the other side of the tree quietly.

"She didn't mean it," she said quietly. Jesse would have sworn that she was talking to him, but she was looking at the gravesite. He heard her sigh again and she spread her arms out as if stretching and suddenly her hand was touching his arm. Both parties jumped.

"How long have you been spying on me?" Amy asked. She didn't look angry as much as she looked curious.

"Only a little while," Jesse admitted. He knew he was caught there was no use in denying it now.

"So you probably heard that nasty confrontation," Amy said. "I apologize for that usually we try to keep it out of public."

"I agree with you," Jesse said.

Amy looked confused and embarrassed. Jesse continued, "Not about keeping the confrontation indoors, but about choosing a route in life that is against the grain."

Amy blushed. "Thank you, I guess."

"So you are going away for the summer?" he asked.

"Afraid so," she said laughing. "It's going to be such a shame to be away from all this," she said cringing as she heard something crash in the house.

"You won't miss anything?" Jesse asked curious. That was one thing he noticed that was inherently different about Amy. Winnie had always wanted to stay in Treegap, and it seemed that Amy wanted to get as far away as possible from it. Either way it seemed like both she and Amy were always doing something that was going against the grain.

"I guess there are things I would miss," Amy said. "I could always come back and visit, it's just not where I am meant to be right now. There is nothing left for me here."

Jesse nodded. She was young, but she was wise. "I feel the same way sometimes."

"Well, it was nice seeing you again Jesse Tuck," Amy said extending her hand.

Jesse grasped her hand and shook it. "Congratulations," he said to her.

Amy blushed again. "Thanks. Well, I guess I won't really be seeing you around, though I might be back for a few weekends or something. Hey, do you have an email address or something then we could keep in touch."

Jesse looked at her speculatively. "No, I'm afraid I don't."

"Oh, that's ok," Amy said. "Have a nice summer."

"You too," he said watching her walk over to the truck she had been sitting in before. She climbed into the driver's side of her pickup truck. He listened to it roar to life and back out of the drive. She disappeared down the road with just the flicker of her turn signal visible after she turned off the familiar street.

Jesse took a deep breath. This was better, he decided. If she wasn't around he couldn't think about her and he couldn't run into her accidentally. This was the answer to all of his problems, though now he felt emptiness. He couldn't explain it. He knew Amy for such a small amount of time, and the truth was that they hadn't talked much during that time. He wished that he could keep in touch with her, but he knew that that was something he couldn't do with anyone he met. He had to disappear without a trace in a few years anyway; the Tuck's never stayed in one place for very long even with all the technology to create new identities nowadays.

Jesse rode his moped toward his home, but decided instead to go to the public library. He sat down in front of a computer and starting his searching process. He looked at all of the internships in the surrounding area. Most of them turned up nothing, but he found one promising lead. It was an internship for microbiology. It was to be on the campus of one of the major universities which happened to be about 50 miles away. He wondered if that was where she would be. He checked the website extensively until he finally found a page for the participants. At first, he only found an application, but before he closed the page he saw a small link that listed the winners of scholarships for the internship. Those were the only names listed, and there weren't many, but he finally found her name and her picture. She was one of three who had received the full scholarship.

He wrote down the address of the university on a small piece of paper and tucked it in his pocket. He might find time to slip away from Treegap to at least see her there. He shook his head. This was crazy; he couldn't stalk this poor girl. It wasn't good for her and it certainly wasn't good for him. He needed to forget about Winnie. She was dead, she had remarried, she had moved on. She had forgotten about him so it should be easy to forget about her, but it wasn't easy. He had waited for her; he hadn't had any interest in any other woman. He was saving himself for her.

He decided to go ahead and follow through with his plan to go home and forget about Winnie and her great-granddaughter. He walked through the door of the home and was greeted by his mother. "Went back to visit her grave?" she asked, concerned.

"I did," Jesse said not wanting to think about Winnie right after he had vowed to forget about her.

"Tuck and I went to see it today as well," Mae said. "She was a remarkable girl."

"I don't really want to talk about her," Jesse said with spite in his voice.

"You still love her," Mae said. "I'm so sorry Jesse, but I agree with Tuck. I hate to see you like this, but she made the right decision."

Jesse shook his head. Part of him knew she was right, but he still didn't need to hear it right now. "I need to talk to Miles," he said plainly. "Do you know where he is?"

Mae raised her eyebrows in curiosity, "He's in the back chopping wood, why?"

"He understands," Jesse said.

Mae nodded. It seemed that both of her sons were in the same boat now. They had both lost so much to their immortality. Mae was fortunate to have already married before she drank the water that changed her life forever. Her heart reached out for the boys, they went through so much and they didn't deserve to have had that kind of pain. Mae wished that they could find a cure, some kind of poison that could counteract the water, but no such thing had been found.

Jesse walked out and saw Miles there. He hated admitting when he was wrong, but he said it to Miles, "You were right."

Miles looked up from the wood. As much as he thought his brother was immature it seemed that he finally understood the full extent of the curse they had been put on him by drinking that water. "You've got a lifetime to try to forget about her, but you won't. I'd like to tell you that the pain subsides over time, but I would be lying."

Jesse instantly regretted talking to his brother. "Well thanks," he said. "I bet you are glad to have someone in the same position as you."

Miles glared at his brother. "I would have never wished this upon you. It's a terrible pain. It's a pain worse than death. You will wish you were dead brother, just to end the pain. I am not going to sugar coat it like Mae. It will hurt, you will never be the same, and you may grow to be bitter. I have nothing else to say about the matter."

Jesse fought the urge to punch is brother in the face. He knew he couldn't blame Miles for his behavior. Miles had not only lost his wife, but he had lost his two children to the curse. Jesse would never understand that kind of pain. Jesse would never make that mistake either. Miles was right about one thing though, Jesse was sure this pain would never fade, especially with nothing to fill the space with. He was aware that most grieving spouses eventually remarried to fill the void in their hearts, but he would never have that chance. He would never be able to explain to his wife the way in which he never got any older. He couldn't risk outing his family and he certainly couldn't stand the pain of that. He sighed deeply. He had a reason for living when he had been with Winnie. He even had a reason for living when they had been apart and that reason was to wait for her until he could come back to reclaim her. It seemed he was too late though. Life had moved on, as it always had, without him.

Jesse took another look at the address he had written down. He had some money saved; he could live nearby for a little while. No one would have to know the reason. Mae wouldn't object his want to be away from this place. He didn't want to get close to Amy, but he wouldn't mind watching her, not in a creepy way, but she just reminded him so much of Winnie. He knew it was sick in a way to follow Amy around just because she looked like Winnie, but there was something about her. Every time she came to his mind he saw a purpose in his existence. He would watch out for her, the way he couldn't for Winnie. He would be in the shadows. He would keep Winnie's family safe, if he could do nothing else. He had failed her. He had come back too late, and he would have to ignore the betrayal he felt from her remarriage and her new family. He still loved her, he always would, but now he would have to find another purpose for living.

Jesse walked back into the house. "I have nothing left here," he told Tuck. "I need some time, some space from this place."

Tuck nodded. "I understand my son. I will respect your decision to leave. I hope that you come back; Mae will especially miss having you around. I know we will meet again, we always do. When do you plan on leaving?"

"Tonight," Jesse said.


	3. A Surprise Visit

_**Chapter 3: A Surprise Visit**_

_It's me again. Sorry about the huge wait on this one. Things have been pretty hectic here, and I've been meaning to finish this chapter for a while, but I just got distracted. Thanks to my readers and thanks especially to jessetucklover and Tristessa-Amoretta for your helpful reviews. I will try to be much more prompt in getting the next chapter to you. I do not own Tuck Everlasting, nor do I own its characters or plot. I do own Amy, but that's about it. _

Jesse had not been able to leave that night but by the end of the week he had traded in his moped for a small car. He could hardly drive the 50 miles on his moped and he had to have a place to put his clothing, not he had much of it anymore. Moving so many times made him pack light by nature. The first trip was not the trip he would be packing for. He was just going to see if she was even there before setting up a residence there of any kind. It would be a waste of time if she wasn't even there.

He drove his car the 50 miles and pulled into the college town. He laughed to himself. It was one of the biggest cities in the area, but it hardly qualified as a college town. He drove through the town to find the campus on the other side of the town. He entered the campus quietly and passed several apartment complexes. He figured the ones across the streets from the entrance were where most of the students who couldn't qualify for the student apartments stayed. He passed all of the student apartments and found a large dorm. There seemed to be no cars in the parking lot and no familiar rusted pickup truck. He kept driving. This wasn't the only dorm building on this campus.

He drove around for a half an hour before he found the science building. It was a small building that wasn't nearly as fancy as the art building or the technology building. It was a plain brick building and behind it was a dorm with a few lights still on. He smirked when he looked at the time. It was almost 3 AM.

He pulled spotted the parking lot for the dorm building. He looked around for the familiar truck and finally spotted it in between a foreign sports car and a hybrid. It was the only older looking vehicle in the parking lot so he decided that there was no way he could have gotten it wrong. Still, he pulled into a parking space in one of the free parking lots across campus and slept for a few hours until he could be sure that she really was here.

Jesse was awoken by the sound of a car alarm. He stretched and climbed out of the backseat. It wasn't the most comfortable night of sleep, and he really didn't need the sleep to survive, it just made him feel less abnormal to sleep. He also functioned better with a few hours of sleep so he would take the few hours of sleep, even if they were uncomfortable rather than let himself run low and become more easily distracted.

He started the car and drove across the campus. He didn't know how long he was going to have to have to wait until he saw Amy, if he ever saw her. He decided two days was the longest he would stay here, and then he would either give up or look elsewhere.

He waited in the car all afternoon. He hoped she would show up soon if she was going to. The campus police already seemed suspicious of him. The must have thought he was a stalker, and in all honesty what he was doing felt like borderline stalking even to him.

He sat in the car until dinnertime. He felt his stomach rumble. He ignored it. He couldn't be bothered with something like that right now. He finally saw a group of girls walking toward the dorms and he stepped out of the car to get a better look at them. His heart almost stopped. He picked her out of the group. He watched her curiously as she threw her head back in laughter at a joke told by one of the other girls. She ran her hands through her curls and said to the girls, "I've got to grab a couple of things out of my car. I've been too tired to unpack everything. There is open lab tonight so I was thinking take out and then back to the lab."

One of the other girls shook her head and said, "You are taking this too serious Amy, honestly we just started the program. Don't you want to hit up a couple of parties? We don't have lab until late in the afternoon tomorrow so we even have time to sleep off the alcohol."

"No, you go on without me, you know how I am, work first play later," Amy said waving them on.

"Ok, well if you change your mind call me," the girl who had spoken before said as the group began to walk toward the dorms.

Amy unlocked her truck and sighed loudly. She pulled out a backpack and pulled up the lock on the truck door before slamming it. She turned around as if she had heard something and then dropped her bag.

"Did you follow me here?" she said her voice shaking as she pointed to where Jesse was standing.

"No," Jesse said cursing himself for not choosing a better hiding place. "I live here," he said trying to explain.

Amy didn't seem to believe him. "It seems like too much of a coincidence," she said backing away from him slowly and picking up her bag without turning from him.

"I heard you went to school here and since I live nearby I thought I would stop by and see if you really did go to school here since it wasn't out of my way," Jesse said.

"Where were you going to check?" she asked him.

"I was already told that you lived in this dorm by the administration office." Jesse said coolly. "I assumed they weren't lying to me."

"What room do I live in?" Amy asked unconvinced.

"I didn't ask, I was planning on asking the front desk to ring you once I found out the dorm you were staying in," Jesse added.

"Why?" Amy asked beginning to lose her argument.

"I wanted to see you again. I was in the process of moving when you and I talked at your sister's wedding. When I found out you would be staying here too I was overjoyed because I don't know anyone in this city," Jesse said.

"I need to take this bag up to my dorm, but if you wait here maybe we could get some dinner or something," Amy said hoping that maybe a dinner would excuse her poor manners. "You have to excuse my manners, usually I am not so.. untrusting," Amy added.

"No problem," Jesse said. "If someone I had only met twice showed up unannounced in front of my home I would be suspicious as well."

"Well, I'll be back down in ten minutes or so. Do you like Chinese?" Amy asked.

"Whatever you are in the mood for, I am starving," Jesse said smiling.

Amy walked toward the dorm building and Jesse waited patiently for her to return. Ten minutes later on the dot Amy walked back out of the building toward Jesse.

"Very punctual," Jesse said.

"Thank you," Amy said. "We can walk to the Chinese takeout restaurant from here."

As Amy and Jesse walked to the restaurant Jesse noticed that Amy still had a protected stance. "She still doesn't trust me enough to be in a vehicle alone with me," he noted to himself.

"So, what do you think of this campus?" Jesse asked. "I was thinking of becoming a student, but I decided against it. I'm better with my hands than I am with a book."

"I am a sophomore here," Amy said. "I was readily accepted for the summer scholarship because I was already a student here. This summer program leads into an internship after I graduate and then perhaps to working in a lab somewhere."

"Sounds like you have things figured out," Jesse said kicking a stone with his shoe.

"I guess so," Amy said. "You never know what will happen though; I am just taking things as they come."

"I live the exact same way," Jesse said. "It's a good philosophy."

"It was my great-grandmothers philosophy," Amy said. "She moved in with us when I was 11." Amy blushed. "I don't know why, but I feel comfortable talking to you, though I hardly know you. Why don't you tell me some things about yourself?"

Jesse swallowed. He had hoped she would continue rambling about herself and forget to ask him such things, but it seemed that she was too polite for that. He sighed; he was going to have to come up with a convincing lie. "Perhaps I should have just left well enough alone," he thought to himself as he cleared his throat.

"I am from Treegap, originally, but my family moved a few times." Jesse said. There was a long pause after that.

"What's your family like?" Amy asked.

"Well, I have an older brother. He's a little bitter; he acts older than he really is. My mother is one of the nicest people you'll ever meet until you get her angry. My father, he's wise, he has had a lot of life experiences," Jesse said.

"They sound fascinating," Amy said.

Jesse held the door open for her as they walked toward the restaurant. She ordered her food quickly and she turned to Jesse, "What would you like?" she asked.

"Same as the lady," he said.

"Sautéed vegetables on white rice?" Amy said laughing. "Most people don't like the sound of that at all."

"It sounded good, I've honestly never had Chinese takeout before," Jesse said.

Amy laughed again and Jesse smiled. He liked the way she laughed. "We can eat here, it seems pretty deserted," Amy said.

Jesse and Amy sat at a table and waited for the food. "Oh no," Amy said. "I absolutely forgot drinks. What would you like, I'll get them."

"Water would be fine." Jesse said.

Amy came back to the table with two water bottles. "Well," Amy said sitting down. "Now we just wait."

The wait lasted fifteen minutes and those fifteen minutes were spent in awkward silence. Amy was a bit socially inept. Small talk wasn't something she was good at, and by the looks of things Jesse was no better at it. Amy nervously tapped her foot and Jesse was as still as a statute. Those fifteen minutes could have been fifteen hours.

Finally the food arrived and Ellie jumped up to get it. Jesse made her strangely nervous and she was having second thoughts about being here with him. She felt in her pocket for her pepper spray, just in case. She paid for the meal, cursing herself. It was much more expensive than she had guessed it would be. She would have to be more careful with her money.

As she came to sit back down, Jesse handed her the money for the meal. "You don't have to do that, I invited you," Amy said looking at the money on the table.

"I showed up unannounced, and it is the proper thing to do," Jesse said pushing the paper bills toward her.

"Thank you," Amy said finally pocketing the money and handing Jesse the food he ordered.

They ate silently for a few minutes until Jesse finally said, "Tell me more about your life."

"There isn't much to say. I told you so much already. I grew up with a single mother in the household, and then when I was eleven we took my great-grandmother into our home when she began to get sick."

"Sick?" Jesse asked. "What was wrong with her?"

"My mother was convinced it was Alzheimer's. My great-grandmother would often talk in her sleep about very strange things, as if she were having a nightmare. She generally just said, I love you, I'm sorry, over and over. We had no idea who she could be talking to, she and my great-grandfather rarely fought I was told. One of the times I was checking on her she said something very abnormal. She said, the wheel, I couldn't wait, I have to die. When was awake she spent most of her time staring out at the trees, specifically the tree that she is now buried under. My mother thought she had lost her mind, but I think she was just sad. She had lived so long, and seen so many die. I think she was ready to move on herself, or at least that's what she told me. Still it always seemed she was holding on, as if she were waiting for someone."

Jesse nodded unable to finish his food. The wheel, Jesse knew what that meant. Winnie had taken Tuck's advice and not taken in the water in order to keep the wheel of life turning. What made him saddest of all was the fact that she had waited for him, in the end, to see him one last time before she passed on.

"I'm sorry," Amy said. "I didn't mean to upset you."

Jesse shook his head. "It's a sad story." He said.

"She died peacefully, if that makes it any better. She didn't suffer in pain. The last things she said were, I waited, but I can't any longer. I love you; I'll see you again, someday. Then she closed her eyes and didn't open them again. She was old and tired; it was just her time to go. I'm happy that she didn't have to suffer, though I've always wondered who it was she was waiting for. My great-grandfather had been dead for almost a decade." Amy said.

Jesse shrugged his shoulders. "One of life's great mysteries," Jesse said. It madehim feel better to hear that she hadn't suffered, even though he knew there was no way to see her again as she had wished on her deathbed. He sighed. He looked at Amy. No matter how much he wanted to believe she was Winnie, wanted to spend time around her to make himself feel better, he knew it was wrong. He couldn't do this to himself, he couldn't do this to her. She would begin to notice that he wasn't aging. She would be strong, like Winnie, and not give into the temptation of eternal life. He couldn't put another woman through what he had put Winnie through. He would have to leave.

"Thank you for dinner," Jesse said as Amy was finishing her meal.

"Thank you for paying, you really didn't have to. I had a nice time; I hope that we can do this again sometime. It would be nice to have a friend outside of classes, just someone I can talk normally to, someone who obviously doesn't mind hearing old stories about family," Amy said smiling.

Her smile was infectious and made Jesse tingle down to his toes. "I need to get back to my apartment, but I had a nice time as well." he said. He looked outside and it was pitch black. "I hope you don't mind if I walk you back, it doesn't seem right to leave a lady to walk herself home in the dark."

Amy accepted. She still had her pepper spray if he did try anything funny, but she knew she shouldn't be walking around campus at night by herself. She knew a girl who had been raped doing that very thing.

The walk back to Amy's dorm building seemed much shorter than the walk to the restaurant had been. "I'll see you around," Amy said waving as she walked into the building.

Jesse waved and drove into the city. He would have to find an apartment, quick. He decided to opt for a motel for the night; no apartment complex would be open this late. He would look around the next morning to find something suitable.


	4. I Caught Myself

_**Chapter 4: I Caught Myself**_

_I have this strange feeling that you, my readers probably want to hit me with a blunt object for how long it took me to update this. I honestly had the beginnings of this chapter on my harddrive for the longest time with no way to finish it. Well, hopefully I am able to get some more chapters up, and with greater frequency. Thank you all for you reviews. It's nice to know even though I haven't updated in a while that people are still reading. You're reviews have been very helpful and uplifting. Anyway, I'll leave you to the new chapter. Enjoy!_

Amy walked back into her dorm and sighed as she flopped on her bed. Her heart was beating quickly. She was going to see him again, and somehow that made her heart flip and flop. She had never felt like this before. She liked being around him, he was so different from anyone she had ever known, mature, down to earth, and he wasn't hard on the eyes either. She shook her head. There was NO way he would be interested, and yet even that thought didn't break her mood. She wasn't in any position to have a boyfriend, nor was she sure she wanted one. She did know that she had made a new friend whom she enjoyed spending time with.

Jesse stayed in a motel that night. He finally got to lie down in a bed. He looked around at the bare room. He hadn't even thought about furniture or anything when he would move into an apartment. He hated the idea of buying furniture just to abandon later because he would be on the run again. He lived his life on the run. He knew how this would end. He knew that he would either disappear unexpectedly or he would have to tell her, as he had done to Winnie and he would have to let her choose either to drink or not to. He wouldn't make that mistake again. She would be drawn into her work and he could go then. It had been a foolish mistake to come here, to try to get close to her to reconnect with old ghosts.

Amy got up from her bed and walked to the lab. She wanted to look at some specimens before going to bed. She never felt like she got enough of the lab experience in class and the labs were open all night for students with card access. She felt a chill and instantly wished she had brought a jacket. "Even summer nights can be cold," she thought to herself. "At least the walk to the science building isn't far."

She swiped her card at the door and it opened. Inside each room was also opened by a sliding card. There were only a few that were opened by key and Amy knew from the year previous that those were the supply closets. She found the open lab and swiped her card again. The door opened and she went to get a microscope. She plugged it in and began to look at one of the prepared slides.

After several hours Amy had looked through all of the slides and was putting the microscope back. She looked at her wristwatch and saw that it was nearly 1 AM. She stretched and walked back to her dorm. She waved to the night desk worker of the dorm building and then she walked upstairs to her dorm.

She unlocked the door and found that her roommate wasn't even there yet. "Probably still out partying," Amy thought to herself. Amy's roommate was her lab partner as well and hadn't needed a scholarship to get into the intern program. Amy wasn't surprised somehow, it wasn't that her roommate was stupid, but she didn't appreciate the opportunity as much as some of the others did. Amy did like spending time with her and her friends and she seemed to fit in well enough, which wasn't something she could say in high school. She was a bit, nerdy, to say the least. She didn't look nerdy, but once she got into a subject she would scare people away. She had only had a couple of boyfriends in high school and they hadn't worked out, boys in high school were immature by definition and the ones who weren't also weren't interested in a relationship. Amy lay down in her bed fully dressed and sighed. She would have to sleep now if she wanted to be rested for the next morning.

The rays of early morning sunlight were shining through the curtains of the cheap motel. Jesse cracked his eyes open. He looked at the clock. It read 8:00 AM. He yawned and began t to get ready to find an apartment. If he was going to continue on with this lie he might as well make it a good one. He showered and brushed his teeth before leaving the hotel room. On the way out the door he grabbed some toast from the free breakfast he was given. He was surprised a place as cheap as the one he had rented even offered a free breakfast of any kind.

He turned the key in the ignition of his car and heard it come to life. He then made his way across town scouting out an apartment. The search lasted hours. It seemed that many students were doing the same thing that he was. He had all but given up as he drove onto the campus of the college. He was hoping to find Amy again, he liked watching her. He walked into one of the buildings to see if it had a vending machine. He hadn't had anything to drink since that morning and it was now into the evening. He saw an advertisement on the bulletin board for a subletter on an apartment. It seemed that the student had run off and gotten married leaving behind her apartment and all of its furniture. She was offering the remainder of her lease as well as 500 dollars for all of the furniture to save her the cost of moving it all. Jesse thought it seemed like a good deal. The lease was only for a few more months, so if things didn't pan out between him and Amy it would be easier to run without being in a long term contract. He called the number on the bulletin board and set up a meeting the next day.

Amy's concentration was faltering. She was grateful that there were no windows in the lab, because if there had been she might have been inclined to stare out of them in a dreamlike state. She needed to snap out of it. One dinner, she had only had one dinner with this guy and he was already getting to her. She shook her head as she lit the Bunsen burner. She would need all of her concentration for her classes.

Jesse met with the owner of the apartment complex. The woman he would be subleasing the apartment from was also present. She looked very happy still glowing from Jesse guessed to be her honeymoon. The owner of the apartment waited while the woman showed Jesse the apartment. It wasn't a very big apartment, one bedroom, not a studio, but small enough to be a little cramped for more than two people. Jesse wasn't necessarily impressed by the apartment, but it was close to where Amy would be staying. He had told her he was staying nearby when they had had dinner two nights ago and he was determined to keep his lies straight. "I'll take it," he said to the woman who looked absolutely thrilled.

The contract was signed over to Jesse and he walked into his apartment. The furniture was very fitting of a bachelor pad, though the apartment had belonged to a female. The couch had an ugly plaid design, the kitchen table and chairs were cheap, the bed in the bedroom was the only nice piece in the whole place. It was a queen sized bed with an oak frame canopy. "This must be what she spent the furniture budget on when she got this place," Jesse thought to himself.

He unpacked his few belongings. He expected that Mae and Tuck weren't expecting him back now. He had already stayed two days over the time he said he would stay if he didn't find her. He wondered what she was doing right now.

Amy finished her work in class and there was a break for lunch. She was happy to be out of class and into the fresh summer air. She ate lunch in the dining hall that was assigned to the dorm she was staying in. She didn't like the food there, but it was better than not eating at all because the money she had with wouldn't last her more than a few weeks with having to buy laundry detergent and other necessities.

After finishing a bland meal she went back into the labs and was once again working diligently. This lasted for another few hours before she went back to the dorms again. The lecture would be ending by the end of that week and the rest of the time would be put into a project. This was research and she needed to find a decent topic and soon. She knew that if her project was chosen she could get a very significant grant which would help tremendously with tuition and she would also be given more time to work with her project until it developed into something. For someone like her that was a life goal, she would just have to find the perfect project.

She walked back to the dorm. She would have to crack down and find something to study. She wanted to do something with the ecosystem maybe. Something about clean water maybe, it seemed a little overdone but maybe she could find something. She stretched as she made it back to her dorm room. It was getting closer to the evening and she found her mind wandering to other things again. She shook her head. Just as she did that the phone rang. She looked at it puzzled. She hadn't given the number to anyone or at least she couldn't remember giving the number to anyone. She rolled her eyes it was probably for her roommate, but when the ringing didn't stop she finally picked up the phone.

"Hello?" Amy asked somewhat annoyed knowing it was probably her roommate's boyfriend.

"Amy?" the voice said on the line.

"Andrea?" Amy asked into the receiver. She had given Andrea the phone number to the dorm, but she never expected her sister to call.

"I found out I'm pregnant you're going to be an aunt!" Andrea shouted excitedly.

Amy smiled. Andrea had always wanted to have kids, she had gotten pregnant once, her mother had freaked as it had been outside of wedlock, but Andrea had lost the baby five months into the pregnancy. She had fallen into a deep depression. It wasn't until she had met Chad, her current husband that she started to get up and be herself again. Amy just hoped that this pregnancy would go much better than the other had.

"That's great Andrea," Amy said.

"Can you come over this weekend? I'm not going in for the ultrasound for a while, but I wanted some help painting a baby room in the house," Andrea said.

"This early Andi?" Amy said nervously. She was afraid Andrea would lose the baby once again and then have a painted baby room full of things that would sit empty and fall into a deeper depression than she had the time before. Still Andrea sounded so excited and she didn't want to put a damper on her.

"Sure I'll help you, but what color are we going to paint it? I'm certain you have no idea of the gender of your baby this early in the game," Amy said nervously laughing.

"Hmm, well I deplore green as neutral baby room color. I guess that leaves yellow, but that's a bit girly I suppose," Andrea said.

"White might be good with a border we could do something really interesting," Amy said.

"Oh!" Andrea said. "Yes I like that, I'll get the paint and see you this weekend."

Before Amy could say anything in protest Andrea hung up. Amy sighed. She was planning on getting her project together that weekend, but now it seemed she would be stuck back in Treegap painting a baby room. At least Andrea's house had a nice basement with a futon she could crash on; she did not like the idea of sleeping in her mother's house. She and her mother hadn't gotten along in a while, probably not ever, Amy had always been a tomboy.

Jesse was tempted that night to visit her again. He felt the gnawing in his chest but ignored it. He didn't want to seem as if he were stalking her, no he would wait. He would let her get used to her schedule and then he would see her, daily if she would let him.

Friday came around too quickly and Amy still hadn't heard anything from Jesse. She didn't know why he affected her so much, she had only met him two times and she could hardly get him off of her mind. Still, she was on her way out to her truck to spend her weekend with her sister. "That should help me get my mind off of him," she thought.

She drove that evening until night feel upon her. She rolled into the driveway of Andrea's new house. She put a small backpack on her shoulders, containing the clothes and few personal items she needed to stay overnight.

Andrea met her in the driveway smiling like a bafoon. Amy smiled too, she was genuinely happy for her sister. She waved to Chad who also wore a warm smile. They ate a late dinner together, the two lovebirds smiling and kissing. Amy sat quietly trying to ignore it. She saw how in love they were and thought to herself, "They are so happy, maybe it wouldn't be so bad, being in love." She chased that thought out of her head quickly. She needed to focus on other things than having children and being a good little housewife. She didn't hate her sister for her, it just wasn't for her. Amy found happiness in other things, more academic pursuits, it wasn't that she didn't need to be wife or a mother, she just wasn't sure she would ever meet anyone who could accept that she had a mind she wasn't going to hide behind an apron and a dustpan.

Amy laid down on the futon in the basement of Andrea's house. She remembered helping Andrea move into this house when Chad had asked her to marry him. Andrea had beamed as much then as she was now. Amy turned over to get comfortable on the lumpy futon and within minutes she was asleep.


	5. The Trouble with Love is

_**Chapter 5: The Trouble with Love is**_

_Hey readers, trying to get more chapters out. Hopefully I am able to update as I have been now. Please keep reading and reviewing, your reviews keep me motivated to write lol. Anyway I don't own Tuck Everlasting or any of its characters. _

Amy lifted the paint roller and smeared white paint on the walls. She wiped her forehead and felt small white paint drops splatter on her face. "You really should look into air conditioning or something," Amy said as she continued to pain the wall.

"You just get too hot easily, I opened the window and put a fan in it, I don't want the paint fumes to build up, what if it hurts the baby?" Andrea said.

"Do you think you're being a little overprotective?" Amy said.

"No, I don't," Andrea said holding her hands on her hips and scowling.

Amy shrugged. "I just don't want you to lose your mind trying to think of everything that could hurt the baby, why don't you talk to an obstetrician and get some early prenatal care, maybe get into a support group or something?"

Andrea sighed, "You think I'm crazy?"

"No, I didn't say that, I just think a support group would be good for you, you could talk to some women who have been through it too, I would love to do that for you, but I've never even been in a steady relationship, let alone thought about having children."

Andrea worked quietly for a while then sighed again, "Maybe you're right."

Amy smiled at her, "It's going to be ok this time Andi, you are more prepared, you have a good doctor, and you've got family completely behind you this time."

Andrea smiled, "I hope you can be as happy as I can be someday."

"I am happy," Amy said.

"Happy, being alone?" Andrea asked.

"I can be happy by myself," Amy said, "Why does everyone think I need to be with someone to be happy."

"Why are you defensive, unless… are you seeing someone?" Andi asked beaming.

"No," Amy said. "I'm.. he's… we're… friends, that's all."

"Are you blushing?" Andi asked. "You like him, what's his name? Oh is he that guy from the wedding that you were with, what was his name? "

"Jesse," Amy said. "And we only had Chinese take-out hardly a date."

"Who paid?" Andrea asked.

"Well, he did, to be polite," Amy said.

"Well that's a date Amy, are you going to see him again?" Andrea asked excited.

"I'm not, I've got too many things going on," Amy said. "I think we're almost done with this room."

Andrea nodded. "What do you want to do with the rest of the afternoon?"

"I don't know, I might go for a walk, you are a newlywed, I don't want to impose, I'll be back a little later, I'll probably leave tonight or tomorrow morning so I can get back to lab and start on the project I was given that scholarship for."

Andrea nodded, "Just try to have a little fun."

Amy nodded back and continued painting. She had been hoping to ignore the fact that she might have feelings for Jesse. She knew what happened when you started having feelings for someone, they either broke your heart or you gave up the dreams you once had and raised a family in some suburb somewhere. Neither option was what she wanted, both were distractions. She wasn't willing to sacrifice everything for her fickle heart. When she finished with the walls she left Andrea to be alone with her husband for a while who would be getting home from work.

Amy walked around the small town for a while. She managed to walk as far as her mother's home before stopping. She had drained the water bottle she had been drinking and she contemplated going over to her mother's home to refill it, but she decided against it. She walked over to her great grandmother's tombstone as the evening chill made the hairs on her arms stand up on her shoulders. She could almost feel hot breath on her neck behind her. She turned around quickly, but no one was there. She shook her head. She was getting too paranoid. She bent down to pat the earth around the flowers to be sure they weren't going to be uprooted.

She saw a small gathering of water at the base of the tree. It was some of the clearest water she had ever seen. She smiled; maybe all things in nature hadn't been destroyed by humans. She placed her empty water bottle into the water and took a sample. She would look at it under the microscope later, when she had time. She turned back around and could have sworn she saw a figure standing in the distance watching her, but when she blinked the figure disappeared.

Miles watched the young Winnie look alike walk away from the tree. He was tempted to take the bottle away from her, so worried that she would be tempted to drink the water and suffer the same fate as he and his family, but he stopped himself. It wasn't his place to be spying on the girl; she had every right to take water from the tree. He realized he should at least warn Jesse to keep an eye on her, but he had almost no way of reaching Jesse now that he had moved. He watched her warm brown curls bounce off her shoulders as she walked down the road toward the town. He wanted to reach out and grab her arm, but instead he followed her. He kept a distance behind her, watching her flit from corner to corner. He watched her enter a home and sit down at a table for dinner. She hadn't taken a drink of the water yet, but he would have to wait to get it back. It wouldn't be the first time he had broken into a place.

He watched the interaction of the family. He watched her laugh, and he could see his brother's fascination. She did look so much like Winnie it was scary, with only a few minor alterations. He had second thoughts about taking the water back. She could make his brother very happy, but he knew it was wrong. He couldn't let this woman throw her life away not even having the choice. He would have wanted the choice and he would have chosen to follow the wheel of life the way it was supposed to be followed.

He watched her help her family clear the table. He guessed the woman she was visiting was her sister. The two exchanged hugs before the Winnie look alike walked out to put a bag in her car. The water bottle was within his view in the house, but the lights were on, and everyone was awake. He didn't want to draw too much attention to himself by knocking on the door and seeing if he could get into the house that way. He watched the woman put a few more bags in the pickup truck.

"Are you sure you have to leave," Andrea said to Amy as she helped Amy put the last bag in her truck.

"Yes," Amy said. "I need to get back to work, I know I planned on spending another night here, but I need to get back to the lab tomorrow and try and start the project I was given a grant to conduct."

"Well don't work too hard, remember there is time for fun, and by the sound of it you may have someone to show you a good time," Andrea said winking.

Amy rolled her eyes at her sister. "I have no intention of participating in any of that kind of fun, so get that idea out of your head. I will not be joining you in pregnancy."

Andrea shook her head. "Well either way try not to completely absorb yourself in class. Have some fun," Andrea added waving.

Amy waved back and started her truck. The truck rumbled to life and Amy shifted it into reverse. She could have sworn she saw that figure in her vision again and she second guessed going back to the dorms. She was obviously hallucinating; maybe she was too tired to drive back. She shook her head and looked at the bottle of water in her cup holder. She needed to get this into the lab and start her project.

Miles watched her drive away. "Damnit," he said under his breath. There was no way he was getting that water back now. She was driving back to where she had come from. He would have to tell Mae and Tuck they were the only ones who could get ahold of Jesse. Jesse would have to figure out some way to get the water away from her, but he didn't put too much faith in his brother to do that. He knew that Jesse was still pining for Winnie and now with her completely gone; he would want this woman more badly. "This is not good at all," he thought to himself as he made his way back across town.

Amy swiped her card for the lab. She set up her apparatus and started all her necessary testing of the water. She smiled as she put a petri dish in an incubator. She also had a wet slide mounted and ready to be viewed. She would see what kind of microbes would grow on the dish and look at the water under the microscope to get an idea of what else was in the water. She placed the wet mounted slide elsewhere to view at another time and saved the rest of the water she had in the bottle for any additional testing she may have to do. She walked out of the lab feeling as if she had accomplished something that weekend.

She laid down on the bed in her dorm. She closed her eyes allowing her mind to wander.

Jesse paced in his apartment. It was driving him crazy that he hadn't asked for her phone number. The only way he could get in touch with her now was to go to her dorm and try and find her or ask for her phone number at the front desk of the dorm. He hadn't even given her a number to contact him at if she even wanted to contact him after that… well he wouldn't call it a date, he wanted to call it that, but it wasn't.

Miles had told Mae and Tuck who both looked at one another worried. "There is no way to find him Miles, he didn't have a cell phone, and he doesn't have a stable address. The only way to find him is to find her. By then it may be too late anyway," Tuck said sighing.

"So we sit back and do nothing?" Miles said obviously outraged.

"What else can we do?" Mae asked trying to calm her son.

Miles walked out completely frustrated. His brother always seemed to get himself in these messes.


	6. Figure it Out

_**Chapter 6: Figure it Out**_

_Finally after five months an update! Thanks all my readers and reviewers for waiting patiently while I updated this story. I think the story may be picking up from this point and with the summer months coming up I should be able to update more often depending on how much I end up working. I do not own Tuck Everlasting, its characters or any of its plot line. _

Miles paced back and forth. What were they going to do now? For so long it had been his family, and now someone new was going to join it. It hardly seemed fair or right. He wished they could have destroyed that water source years ago when they found out its terrible secret. It was hard to say if there were more people like his family, wandering the world endlessly. They couldn't have been the only ones to drink from that source, and certainly the wildlife would have stopped to drink from the trees basin. Perhaps the entire forest was inhabited with immortal animals. He also hated to admit that he was a bit envious of his brother, who would get to spend eternity with his companion.

"There could still be time," he thought to himself as he looked through his brother's things. He found the piece of paper that seemed to have an address written on it. He walked into the living room with a new focus. "I am going to try and stop her," Miles said grabbing a light jacket before heading toward the front door.

"Do we really have to?" Mae asked. "This could be good for Jesse, for us, to have another girl around."

"Miles is right," Tuck said consoling Mae. "The girl should have a choice in the matter."

Mae nodded and Miles exited the home. Miles hopped into his own pickup truck, which he used for his odd and end jobs over the years. Fifty miles in the truck was nothing, but find the dorm that this girl might live in was horrendous. He thought about what he was going to say to her. She had never met him before, and now he was going to approach her and warn her about drinking water from a tree basin. This was crazy. He knew of course, that there was a chance he could find Jesse, and tell him to come home and give up on this. Jesse could explain how dangerous this was to the girl, someway somehow, if it wasn't already too late.

He waited in the parking lot of what looked like the most inhabited dorm on campus. He spotted the truck, it wasn't hard to find among some of the nicer vehicles. He saw a small blue car parked beside it which he recognized as Jesse's car. He looked inside the car and saw no one.

Jesse stood at the front desk waiting as the woman standing behind it picked up the phone and dialed the number for Amy's room. The two stood in silence for a moment and then the woman behind the desk began talking. "There is a visitor for Amy Jackson at the front desk," the woman said into the phone.

After hanging up the phone the woman said. "It appears that she left early this morning, and her roommate has no idea of when she'll be back."

"Thanks anyway," Jesse said to the woman. He should have thought about that, just because it was the weekend didn't mean that she wouldn't be working as hard as ever.

Jesse walked back to the parking lot and saw a familiar truck parked next to his truck. "Miles?" he questioned.

Miles climbed out of the truck and gave his brother a stern look. "Why did you follow me here?" Jesse asked.

"I didn't follow you here; I am here because your girlfriend took some of the water."

"She's not my girlfriend," Jesse said defensively. "And she did what?" he asked finally grasping what had happened.

"She put some of the water in a water bottle. I never saw her drink any of it, but if she has, it's already too late. You need to find her and stop her from doing it and get rid of the water she already took."

Jesse nodded. "I mean it Jesse, I know you really like this girl and it would be nice if she just drank the water solving all of your problems but do you really want one more person to not have a choice about this," Miles said firmly.

"You are right, she deserves a chance," Jesse said. Inside of his mind he was hoping that she might have already drank the water so he would finally have someone else to talk to besides his family, but he knew it was wrong to hope that. This woman, had dreams, and goals and this would ruin them.

He didn't know where the lab was but he was determined to find it. He wasn't going to wait until she got back to the dorm, by then it could be too late.

He found what appeared to be the lab, but it took a key card to get in. He saw another student approach the door and use a key card so he followed behind that student. Once inside he saw rows of incubators, petri dishes, Bunsen burners, and other laboratory equipment. He noted that this was the lecture hall most likely, and he would probably be looking for an individual, smaller laboratory inside this building. He continued walking passing by more and more empty rooms. He began to become discouraged. What if he never found her, there could be more than one lab building on campus and even if he did find her what was he going to tell her? That he broke into this building by sneaking in with someone to warn her about drinking some water because she would become immortal? It sounded crazy in his head he didn't even want to know how crazy it would sound in person.

Amy looked at the wet slide mount that she had created the night before. She noted no impurities in the water. "How strange," she thought to herself. She looked further at the wet mount and noted nothing unspectacular about the water other than being too clean. "Of course the cleanest water would come from nature itself," Amy thought. "That's the way it should be."

She pricked her finger on a lancet and prepared control slides. She would place a drop of water with the blood and see how it was affected. She knew this would probably show nothing but microbe activity, but she was running out of ideas. Her cultures in the incubator would take two more days until they were ready to be viewed.

Jesse continued down the halls until he got to the end of one. It was dark, but he could see light coming from one room. The window was one way glass; he could see Amy in the lab, sitting on a stool, looking into a microscope.

Amy heard a knock at the door. She glanced toward the door wondering who could be knocking. Anyone with a key card could easily get into the room, and anyone who didn't have a key card couldn't have gotten in the building. She wondered if she should just ignore it. There were plenty of open labs in the building, why did someone want probably the only one that was occupied on a Sunday morning.

Amy looked back at her microscope, but then heard another knock. Amy sighed went to the door opened it. On the other side she saw Jesse.

"How did you get in here?" Amy asked. She should have known this guy was going to turn out to be a stalker, why did she always have such a terrible time reading people.

"I need to tell you something," Jesse said.

"And it couldn't wait until I got back to my dorm? You could get me in really big trouble being here," she said looking down the hall. "Someone's coming," she said pulling him into the room and shutting the door.

"Put this on," Amy said handing him one of the lab coats from the rack.

The sound of footsteps passed the room and continued to another room farther down the hall.

"What did you need to tell me that is so damned important," she asked her hands on her hips.

"Did you drink the water from the tree last night?" he asked.

"Are you following me?" Amy asked stepping away from him. She had made one of the worst mistakes she could have made with a potential stalker; she let him get between her and the door. She started breathing heavy looking for a way to escape.

"No, my brother was down by your great-grandmothers grave, my family knew her. Amy, it's a long story, but I really need to know if you drank that water," Jesse said looking worried himself.

"No, I didn't drink the water; I'm testing it for an experiment. Though I may consider drinking it now, with how few impurities I found in it compared to tap water."

"Amy there is something wrong with that water, something that your great-grandmother knew about it too. That water changes people," Jesse said with pleading eyes.

"Do you have any idea how crazy you sound right now?" Amy asked. "Just to prove that there is nothing wrong, come and look at the wet mount I just made for it," she said placing the mount with the water and her blood on the slide.

She looked at the blood closely. Something was wrong. The cells appeared to be, replicating. "This is very strange," she said. She took one of the cultures she had made of healthy skin cells and placed the water on it. She saw that the cells readily took up the water under a microscope and that they seemed to be changed, just slightly. Like cancer, they continued to multiply and then just stopped. She saw no more changes in the cells after that. This process took almost forty five minutes all of which she had forgotten about Jesse who was watching her patiently.

"This is unbelievable," she said. "I've never seen anything like this."

"It's dangerous," he said. "I don't know what you just saw, but I want you to know this. I'm not really eighteen years old. I'm closer to 218 than I am 18."

"You….. You're what?" Amy asked her heart thrumming in her ears.

"You heard me Amy, I'm almost two hundred years old," Jesse said.

"That's… impossible," Amy said backing away from him.

"Now that I've told you I hope you understand why I don't want you to drink the water," Jesse said. "I'll go now; I can see that you are very uncomfortable with me here and still in a lot of shock."

"I want you to tell me more," Amy said quietly as Jesse reached for the door handle.

"What do you want to know?" he asked.

"Everything," she said breathing out. She believed him, even with how crazy his story sounded. It was no crazier than what she had just seen under the microscope.

Jesse sat with her for the next three hours telling her every detail he could think to tell her. Once he was finished he was surprised when Amy hugged him. He tried to ignore the fact that her neck was stretched out in front of him, wanting to place his lips on the flesh so badly. He hadn't been able to tell anyone that story since Winnie. Ugh, why did she have to smell good?

After a few moments Amy pulled herself away from him. "I'm sorry… usually I'm not much of a hugger…" she said awkwardly.

"It's fine…," Jesse said as equally awkward.

"I should probably go, I left my brother out there waiting hours ago," Jesse said.

"Yes, I should get back to work," Amy said blushing slightly before turning away from him.


	7. Misery Business

_**Chapter 7: Misery Business**_

_I was able to get this chapter out a lot quicker than I thought I would. Please keep reading and reviewing, I still have places to go with this fanfic. I do not own Tuck Everlasting, its characters or its plot in any way. _

Miles waited patiently for his brother to return. After the first hour he became worried. After the second, he began to wonder what his brother was up to and once it reached the third he wasn't sure what to think. Did Jesse have to explain to this girl that life as she knew it was essentially over? That seemed ironic to him, her life was over, yet she couldn't physically end it. He sat in his truck stoned faced closing his eyes and hoping that it was not the case, but as time slipped by he began having his doubts.

He heard a rap on the truck door and opened his eyes. Jesse was standing outside the door his face a mix of emotions. "Oh no," Miles thought gripping his forehead with his hands.

Miles got out of the truck and stood face to face with Jesse. "Did she drink the water?" he asked plainly.

"No," Jesse said calmly. There was no need to tell him more than that. Miles was very protective of the family and would not like the inclusion of another person into the knowledge of the family.

Miles sighed in relief. "You don't have to sound so relieved," Jesse said looking down at his feet.

"Jesse, you and I both know that its better this way," Miles said coldly.

Jesse nodded, but looked away. "Are you going home then?" Jesse asked.

"Yeah, I guess I am," Miles said. "You should really come home too Jesse, Mae and Tuck are worried, and you don't belong here. This girl is not worth you being so far away from your family, and you hardly know her. You have to let this go. I know that you miss Winnie, but you can't chase after every girl that looks like her. You are going to drive yourself and this poor girl crazy with this obsession. Winnie is dead Jesse; she lived her life, got married, had kids, and then died. The way it should have been for you and I."

"You really are an asshole," Jesse said not looking at his brother.

"I'm being logical. I can't ever bring Mary back, or Anna, or Beau. We are cursed Jesse. You need to come home to your family and give up on this. What do you really think is left here for you?"

Jesse turned toward his brother, "She knows," he said.

Miles nodded. He had figured that his brother had had to have told her a little bit about it to keep her from drinking the water. "How much does she know?"

"Everything," Jesse said breathing out.

"What do you mean everything?" Miles asked enraged.

"I mean everything," Jesse said quietly.

"Why?" Miles asked exasperated. "Why would you do this to us again? Are you really that selfish? She didn't need to know everything. What if she tells someone, we've just gotten settled in Treegap again, you should see how happy Mae is to be back. You've ruined everything Jesse."

"She's a scientist, she saw the water. She didn't say much about it, but she didn't believe it until she saw the water under a microscope. I think, maybe she could help us Miles. Maybe there is some sort of cure, or at least some way to destroy the water, we've tried so many times to do so ourselves," Jesse said.

Mile shook his head. "You may be using that as an excuse, but she can't help us. I've got to tell Mae and Tuck you know, that you've told another person our secret. You know what kind of strain this is going to be put on everything. I hope this is worth what you are going to put this whole family through," Miles said getting into his truck.

"Go to hell Miles," Jesse said to his brother as walked to his own car.

Miles drove the fifty miles back to the house. For some reason it seemed so much longer driving back than it did driving there. When he finally pulled into the driveway of the house it was in the early evening hours. Mae had already made the evening meal and Tuck was out chopping would. He quietly tiptoed into the house and lie in his own bed with his eyes open. He ran Jesse's words through his head. A scientist, who could see the waters effects; he wasn't sure how to handle that information. He wanted to believe that after all the years of waiting the Tuck's would finally be able to pass on and the water source could be destroyed. He had wanted it for years every since Mary had taken his children away from him. He hated how he had to practically stalk her to be able to even get a glimpse of his children. He hated having to watch Anna die of influenza, not even being able to hold her as she took her last ragged breaths. Beau had lived a somewhat full life, but never married or had any children so the Tuck line stopped with him. Miles would have given anything to die, but at this point he never believed that there would be a time when that would be possible.

Jesse slammed the door of his apartment. He was furious with his brother for coming to find him and essentially trying to drag Jesse down to his level of misery. He wondered about what he said, about Amy being able to find a cure. At that time it had been a knee-jerk response, but he wondered now if it was truly possible. He hadn't thought about that in so long. He was determined to stay alive for Winnie for a while, but it wasn't until recently he felt like dying again. He was using Amy as a crutch, he knew that, but what was so wrong about that? She didn't know, and she seemed to enjoy his company well enough. What was the harm in trying not to feel so lonely? He wanted Winnie, and it was killing him that he could never, never have her, but for now he had the closest thing. A blood relative, a child of her child's child, her great-granddaughter who just happened to bear a striking resemblance to her. Yes, he realized how sick this was, and no, he didn't care. It came to a point where he needed her, and as guilty as it would make him feel someday, he put that to the side and focused on finding ways to get closer to her. At first he told himself it was just to hear stories about Winnie, but he also found himself enjoying her company. Then there was the point earlier in the day, when she had hugged him. The thought of it made him dizzy. "Oh no," he thought to himself. He was falling in love with her, and if left unchecked… well he wasn't sure what he would do.

Amy tried to concentrate on her slides, but couldn't. Her mind was reeling. Immortal, Jesse Tuck was essentially immortal. The key to it was in her dorm, just sitting on the desk for anyone to snatch. "Anyone like your roommate," Amy's mind reminded her. She dropped the slide she had been working on and rushed out the door.

When she got back to her dorm room she saw the bottle lie untouched. "I have to take this back where it belongs before something happens to it," she thought to herself. She looked at the clock. She knew the trip was an hour, and then it would be another hour back. If she left now she might be able to make it back with enough time to get some sleep before her early morning class the next day. She had the water bottle in her hand and walked quickly out to her truck. She saw no trace of Jesse's blue car as she pulled away. "He must have already gone back to his apartment," she thought to herself.

Amy drove with her eyes focused on the road. She didn't want to think about why she was driving out to Treegap with barely enough time for her to get back and get a decent amount of sleep the next morning. She was skipping her dinner as is and her stomach did not seem happy with her decision on that matter, though she couldn't tell if she was hungry or if she was anxious about what had happened to her that day. She ignored her stomach and continued to her destination.

Miles walked out the door with a light jacket on. It was a cold night for summer. He had been the only member of the family not see Winnie's grave, to not return to the water source that made the Tuck family the way they were. He had been interrupted when trying to do so the night before. He wasn't sure why but he got into his truck and drove to her gravesite. As he pulled up he saw another person was already there. It was getting dark and all he could see was a silhouette of a person. He got closer and saw the same young woman he had seen her just the night before standing in the same place. She appeared to be pouring the water back into the tree basin.

Amy poured the water from the bottle hearing it trickle slowly back into the tree basin. She got almost to the last drop, but stopped and screwed on the cap. She wasn't sure why she kept a little back; it was silly, she definitely didn't want this water's secret to get out in her experiments. In truth she would have to destroy the evidence of the water she had already used. Still, something inside her told said to hold a little back, and she wasn't arguing with her gut feeling. She turned around and jumped backwards slightly upon seeing someone not too far away from her.

Miles jumped back as well. He hadn't been expecting her to turn around so quickly.

"Who are you?" Amy asked as she caught her breath from the shock she had just endured.

"It's none of your business," Miles said instantly regretting that he had come out here in the first place.

"This isn't public property, so I believe it is my business actually," Amy said.

Miles shook his head and snorted a bit. She did remind him of Winnie, witty and a bit irritating. "Miles Tuck," he said.

"Jesse's brother," she said softly.

"Yes, I am Jesse's brother," Miles said back to her.

"I…," Amy said, appearing to want to say something but not entirely sure how to word whatever it was she wanted to say.

"You would do best to stay away from Jesse," Miles said to her coldly.

"I think I can make that decision on my own," Amy said. Jesse hadn't mentioned his brother much when he had told her the story of the family. She could see that he was protective of something, but she didn't fully comprehend because she didn't know anything about him really.

"You are a stubborn girl, find someone else to pester and leave this family alone. We don't need you to cause trouble," Miles said sternly to her.

Amy was taken aback. She certainly hadn't expected that. "You are a rude man, and I think it is time for you to leave," Amy said placing her hands on her hips.

"As you wish Miss Jackson, I will leave your property, but heed my warning and, stay away from Jesse," Miles said glaring at her as he left the gravesite.

Amy was infuriated with the way she had been approached. Just earlier today Jesse had come in telling her about enchanted water and immortality, and now upon meeting another member of the family she's told never to associate with them anymore. It was giving her a severe case of emotional whiplash.

Miles stormed away from the gravesite, from the tree basin, wishing he hadn't made the trip down there at all tonight. He tried not to turn around look at her as he stepped into the cab of the pickup truck. He caught a glimpse of her as he drove away, but tried to push it out of his mind. This girl was going to ruin them, just like Winnie had. They had been on the run for years after that, and Jesse had gone through some major mood swings, always holding onto that little bit of hope. Miles sighed, it would have been easier if Winnie Foster had never gone into the woods, had just stayed at home like she was supposed to and gotten married, had her kids, and died without any association with the Tuck family. Instead now he had to deal with her great-granddaughter, who now had possession of Jesse's heart, though that was sick enough as is. Jesse didn't really love this girl; he loved Winnie and was using this girl to gain some kind of connection to Winnie. No one else seemed to see how sick it was, how unfair it was to everyone involved. It was unfair to Mae and Tuck because they would have to deal with Jesse when this girl died as well, or when they had to move again and Jesse did not want to go. Mae would cry, her family falling apart again, Tuck would try to hold her together; Miles would have to once again find a way to work to keep their identities hidden. Jesse, he would be heartbroken because this girl would never add up to Winnie, and eventually her life would continue on. He hated to admit it, but even the girl who was ripping his family apart was to be pitied in this situation. If she truly fell in love with Jesse she too would have her heart broken, knowing that Jesse loved someone else and was in essence using her. Miles shook his head. It was a hot mess.

Amy drove back to her dorm is silence trying to let everything sink in. She…, she just wasn't sure what was coming over her. She felt tingles going down to her toes when she thought about the warmth of her body against Jesse when she had hugged him earlier today. She had felt, she wasn't sure what the word she was looking for was. She gripped the steering wheel. She couldn't be thinking like this. She couldn't allow herself to become distracted from her task. She needed her life to matter in more than just settling down and starting a family. She got a cold chill thinking about Miles words, so much hatred in them. How could he hate someone that he had never met?

As she pulled into the parking lot in front of her dorm she sighed softly. As she walked through the doors she knew after the day she had had that nothing was going to be the same. She knew a terrible secret, a secret she wasn't even supposed to find out about. She knew now that Jesse was in love with her great grandmother, which she couldn't help but let disturb her a little. She knew that she looked a lot like her, but this was just bizarre. He had been very kind when sharing the details of the relationship he had with her great grandmother, but Amy assumed there had been some amount of intimacy. He just had that longing look on his face when he talked about her. She shook her head. How could she be in falling for this guy who obviously only liked her because she looked like someone else he had loved. It was sick, and with that thought she knew it would be easier to forget about him. Still, that sad look on his face, the obvious desperation, he needed her help. That's all she would offer him she decided, help and nothing else.


End file.
